France and England trying to “outshit” one another whilst still (likely) managing to progress. Makes you wonder what we’ll have in store tomorrow to better this…
Didier Desouthgate. Distinct lack of creative players in the France squad, for some reason. Portugal has an abundance of them.
It seems to work against the taker from what I’ve seen. Everyone’s brain scrambles and then it becomes a 50/50. The best penalties tonight were scored with purpose and conviction - no stutter and last second decision.
They cannot actually stop. But they can slow right down as long as there is some continuous movement. But even that should not be allowed. They probably just didn't think through the wording and physical application of the change when it was originally enacted. Who would have thought lawmakers wouldn't realise the implications of their actions?
Lewandowski blatantly did taking his penalty against France Then stopped twice when retaking it Surely the law should say that if you stop during your run-up, defenders can encroach on the area. That'd stop that bullshit PDQ
I can't help but compare France to the way their manager used to play. Didier Deschamps was nicknamed The Water Carrier and I think it shows. His squad lacks the presence and quality of a Zidane or a Platini. It tries to make up for it in athleticism, speed, hard work and defensive solidity. They've been dull, negative and virtually unwatchable at times, but they're progressing. I'm not sure whether I should be appalled by the tedious football or impressed by the results. Is it Deschamps draining the side of creativity or is he playing the hand he's been dealt? I can't think of anyone suitable that he's left out, so maybe it's the latter?
I think they sorely miss Pogba. He was often excellent for country and played a strong role when they won the World Cup. There was a clip that even floated about social media just a few days ago where someone asked Mbappe why he isn’t making many runs in behind any more and his response was something like “because I don’t have Pogba’s passes to run onto”.
Not really familiar with the France squad, so in terms of overall strength, how drastically do people think it differs from their 2018 and 2022 vintage ??
The main issue is that Ligue 1 doesn't really produce creative midfielders anymore, which is why that headcase Rabiot keeps getting in the squad, which is born out by looking at the assist rankings for last season where it was all strikers and wingers - or ineligible for the French team, such as Aleksandr Golovin, Takumi Minamoto, Ismaila Sarr, Jeremie Boga, Terem Moffi, Angel Gomes, Edon Zhegrova etc etc etc
It's a very strong and deep squad, but it's sorely missing any creativity. It hasn't actually changed that much from 2020 or 2022. I think Lloris and Varane are the only 2 players out from the World Cup Final loss. Giroud's on the bench though, so the other attackers don't have that focal point.
It's established both that one celled organisms can learn, and that Gareth Southgate can't. One lineup scores none (edit: now two) and gives up one. Another scores two and gives up none. So which lineup.do you go with next game? There are those who use feedback to improve performance. The universe is straining every nerve to tell Southgate something, and he ain't interested, My theory is that Southgate vowed to have his revenge on England fans after their reaction to his penalty miss, *Wonders what the rwaeb list is*
